Rail-joint



' (No Model.)

0. W. LEVALLEY. RAIL JOINT.

No.244,265. Patented Ju1 12Q-18811 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHRISTOPHER W. LEVALLEY, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

vRAIL-JOINT.

,SPEGIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 244,265, dated July 12, 1881.

Application filed May 23, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHRISTOPHER. W. LE- VALLEY, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at St. Paul, in the county of Ramsey and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railroad-Rails; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to a novel construction of railroad-rails and splice-bars adapted to unite firmly the adjacent ends of the rails in such manner as to prevent them from being deflected downward by the passage of a carwheel over them, whereby the wear and tear of rolling-stock is largely prevented.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my invention. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the splice-bars, taken from the inside; and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the adjacent ends of two rails, one of the splice-bars having been removed in order to show the form of the rai s.

Both ends of the rail areof the same construction. A is the base, B the vertical web, and D the tread,which is chamfered 0% upon both sides as at d, to such extent as to leave a portion, 0, of substantially the same thickness as and forming a continuation of the web, extending to the upper line of the tread, and forming a continuation thereof. Each splicebar consists of a lower portion, E, which is of a width corresponding substantially to the width of the web B of the rail, and an upward projecting portion, F, having beveled portions f, which fit closely the chamfered parts d of the tread, the upper and outer corner of part F being rounded, so that when the bars and rails are firmly secured together by bolts G, as in Fig. 1, the outline of the parts F and G, in'cross-section, corresponds to the outline of the upper and outer portions of the tread D in cross-section. The upper faces of the ends e either direction its weight is gradually transferred from the tread D to the part F of the splice-bar, owing to the chamfered and beveled adjacent parts of the rails and the splice-bars, as will be readily understood without further explanation.

Ido not claim, broadly, the eombination,with railroad-rails having the tread beveled at their ends, of correspondingly-beveled splicebars and looking or clamping bolts; but my pcculiar construction of parts possesses some advantages over any other of which I have knowledge. Forinstance, by making the parts E and F of substantially uniform thickness I insure that the expansion and contraction of the rails shall not produce a looseness between the parts, as would be case if the splice-bar were thicker in the center than at its ends; and by making the ends 0 of the bar to fit closely between the base and the tread of the rail I greatly reduce the rising and falling of the chamfered portions f relative to the adjacent portions of the rail, as the ends of the rails are elevated or depressed by the passage of the ear-wheels over them, and the jarring efl'ect of the Wheel passing from the end of the rail to the splice-bar is thereby diminished.

What I claim is The herein-described railroad-joint, consistin g of the splice-bars E F 0 eff, in combination with the rails having their ends adapted to receive the splice-bars and the bolts Gr, all constructed and arranged substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHRISTOPHER W. LEVALLEY.

Witnesses:

J. H. RANDALL, L. D. WILKES. 

